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Fuse Universal & University College London Offer Opportunity for Learning Science Research

November 28, 20173 min read

London – November 28, 2017 – Market leading next-generation learning solutions provider, Fuse Universal, to conduct ground-breaking research in collaboration with the Computer Science department at University College London (UCL) to explore machine learning driven personalised learning experiences.

The project’s aim is to carry out a study into human learning trends, in order to drive the development of novel eLearning software systems that provide a learning environment and corporate training within organisations. The goal is to develop a completely new approach to designing eLearning systems using machine learning based computational methods, to learn a mapping between the learning material (content, form, delivery) and its effectiveness in the learning process of the user. Utilising Data captured from Fuse Universal clients and investigating individual and demographic variables (e.g. personality, age, role and tenure), the study will look to determine significant attributes and profiles of individuals using the learning system. This understanding can then be utilised in order to provide data to create a recommendation engine to personalise the learning experience for the user.

Dave Westwood, Head of Learning Sciences at Fuse Universal stated “Organisations are aware that in order to maintain a competitive advantage within their market they need an organisational workforce which is able to adapt and innovate swiftly. Organisations are therefore turning to learning and development in order to develop staff equipped with the necessary skills. New social platforms such as Fuse are being designed to engage and deliver at scale this workforce learning. These platforms are creating millions of data points per month tracking what individuals are utilising and engaging with, within their learning. With further understanding and exploration, machine learning could afford us the opportunity to personalise further the learning experience in order to more swiftly engage and educate individual learners.”

Dr. Ivana Drobnjak, Associate Professor at UCL added“Learning is not a one-size-fits-all type of process. Different people need different learning environments, contents and deliveries in order for them to absorb and apply the learned material successfully. In this project, we are trying to develop a computational tool that learns from its user about his/her’s learning preferences and adapts itself seamlessly to deliver the best, personal learning environment. The computational technology will be based on techniques such as data mining, analytics and machine learning, which is only made possible because of a continuous stream of very rich data from the Fuse platform that will allow us to understand our learners better.”

The project involves analysing large data sets of online learning data from companies such as Vodafone, Carpetright, Spotify and IHG, to learn trends using data analysis techniques such as machine learning.

The project is funded for 4 years with a tax-free stipend and fees paid at the Home/EU rate

Due to restrictions placed on the funding this scholarship is only open to applicants from the UK or EU

Successful applicants will work in both the London Offices of Fuse Universal (Shoreditch) and University College London (Euston)

The project is supervised by Dr. Ivana Drobnjak

About University College London

UCL is London’s leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 11,000 staff and 38,000 students from 150 different countries. Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL was the first university in England to welcome students of any religion and the first to welcome women on equal terms with men.

About Fuse Universal

Fuse Universal is regarded by leading analysts as a core leader in next-generation learning services. They partner with over 100 global organisations including Spotify, EY, Vodafone, IHG, AstraZeneca and Novartis to revolutionise learning experiences.

What makes Fuse unique? In a word, “engagement”. Their customer’s experience, on average, 50 times more engagement than any existing learning management system. For organisations not looking to replace their existing LMS fully, Fuse can run in parallel or in front of a current platform. This methodology adds a whole host of new functionality including an advanced user interface, mobile, video & social learning, and a rich content management system. Their team of experts helps guide and reskill L&D personnel to ensure that the transition from traditional to next-generation learning is a seamless experience. And the greatest benefit seen by Fuse clients is flexibility. The complete freedom to design a unique measurable learning experience where analytics are used to prove the value of L&D by depicting the correlation between learner engagement and business performance.